Knee Surgery

Greetings from the couch - my new home for the next few days.

Yesterday day was a day 4 months in the making... knee surgery day! I got the call Monday afternoon that I was scheduled to check in at 1:45 on Tuesday and then would go into surgery at 3:15. I wasn't allowed to eat anything after midnight the night before, and was allowed to drink water, apple juice, and ginger ale up until 9:45am.

I tried to make the most of dinner on Monday night. Andy took me to Mr. Dominic's (my favorite Italian place) and I ordered Chicken Parm... I figured that was a massive dose of carbs, protein, and fat, and hoped that would stick around longer. I tried my best to eat as much as I could, but it was hard! I felt disgusting but I was so scared of being hungry the next day, I was determined, haha.

The next morning I tried to sleep in later than normal. I got up around 8:45 - then I made it my job to drink as much water and apple juice as humanly possible. I peed A LOT. I spent the rest of the morning doing a little laundry since I won't be able to do that for awhile. Eventually 1:20 rolled around and it was time to head out.

Andy drove me to the Sawgrass Surgical Center. It was a pretty big place!

Surgery Center

I checked in, then sat in the waiting room with Andy. I was pretty nervous... my hands wouldn't stop sweating. The wait wasn't too long until they called me back. I had to pee in a cup (not a problem since I drank SO much), then they had me change into my hospital gown. And then the moment I was dreading most... the IV. The nurses were really nice. I started crying a little bit just because I was so nervous and while one nurse "did it" the other sat and held my hand and talked and talked - I told her I was getting married so we talked about venues around the Finger Lakes that were nice. Amazingly I didn't pass out. Once that was all taken care of they let Andy come back and sit in the room with me.

Waiting to go in for surgery

I was so glad they let Andy come back because I just laid there for an hour waiting. If I had been by myself I think I would have freaked out, but he did a good job of keeping me distracted. A slew of different people came in during that hour - Dr. Maloney stopped in to say hi, the anesthesiologist came in to tell me what I could expect, the attending nurse came in to introduce herself, and Kim the PA got me set up with my recovery plan and meds.

The Doctor put his initials on my leg...gotta make sure he does the correct knee!!

FINALLY it was time to go in for surgery. It was about 3:45 (30 minutes late). To say I was hungry would be an understatement. First they put something to "relax" me through my IV. As soon as they did it I made a noise and kind of jumped. I could tell they were concerned (I obviously was too). They asked what it felt like and I said it felt like burning - they said that could happen sometimes, so they calmed down (and so did I). Then they started wheeling me back. She asked how I was feeling and I told her I was nervous, but she assured me the meds would kick in soon. They wheeled me into the OR... there was music playing and a lot of people in there. I could tell they were putting a blood pressure cuff on me and putting some monitors on my chest... at the same time they gave me an oxygen mask. It probably only took a few seconds before I was knocked out. Next thing I new I was waking up in recovery.

All done

They let Andy come back again. I was so glad he was there. I honestly don't remember a whole lot, but I do remember the nurse laughed because she said I told her how much I like sandwiches with turkey and mustard and that I was excited to eat pancakes, haha. All true! They also told me I didn't have any sign of a tear or any structural damage, which is great news! That should mean I'll be able to do everything I used to do. They did however, drain a cyst that was the size of a golf ball... bigger than it was in the MRI so it was obviously still "growing." No wonder my knee hurt. A golf ball is pretty big to be in a knee, which doesn't have tons of extra space. They said that could easily be what was causing all the pain. Mystery solved!

Once I was a little more awake Andy helped me get dressed and then they wheeled me out in a wheelchair and got me in the car. As we were pulling into our apartment, Sarah was walking up the sidewalk - she was here to make me pancakes!! What a friend. :-) I didn't write about it in my last post, but Sarah made me a bagel and and PBJ sandwich during the relay, and then she came to make pancakes and eggs post-op. She's a friend and apparently my personal chef, haha. Lucky me!!

COOKIE DOUGH PANCAKES!!

Sarah and Babs :-)

We hung out and watched Jeopardy and The Voice. It was a good night, especially considering I just had surgery. I spent the rest of night on the couch. This was my view...

Leg all wrapped up

I didn't have a terrible night pain-wise, but I sure had a hard time sleeping for a long period of time. My leg feels best with my knee cap pointing towards the ceiling, which means I had to sleep on my back all night long. I typically sleep on my side, so that was not the most comfortable. Hopefully the recovery time will be quick. On Thursday at 4:30pm I'm allowed to take the wrap off my leg and also be able to take a shower. I'm already counting down!

One last thing - a HUGE thank you to all of my friends. Your emails/texts of support really made me smile and helped me feel much calmer. You are all the best. :-)